Elementary Mentor Teachers

Working With Juniors

The Elementary Teacher Preparation Program thanks you for being willing to work with a junior-year teacher candidate as a Mentor Teacher (MT). As part of their TE 301 coursework, juniors are placed in the field to gain valuable elementary classroom observation and lesson experience. We know that with the busy schedule and the heavy demands of teaching, it can be a challenge to find time to work with another adult in the classroom. Yet, your work as a MT is a key part of the development and mentoring of preservice teachers. It is also an essential component of the success of the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program at Michigan State University.

On the rest of this page, you will find information and resources to assist your work with juniors as a Mentor Teacher.

Junior/Senior Mentor Teacher Guidebook

This guidebook provides information as to how to supporting the professional learning of teacher candidates. The guidebook also provides:

Contact information

How field placements are organized

Details about the TE 301 coursework

Responsibilities in working with juniors

Helping juniors get the most out of their field experiences

Mentoring practices

Helpful websites

Mentoring Practices

This helpful handbook provides ideas and advice about mentoring teacher candidates. While the primary audience of the book is for MTs working with interns, this handbook is a must read for all professional teachers. Any Mentor Teacher who has worked with teacher candidates will quickly acknowledge that it is complex and demanding work, and that, like all teaching, there is always more to learn about carrying out the mentoring role. That is because mentors are teacher educators who must provide appropriate guidance and support for a novice teacher whose professional practice is still developing. Use Mentoring Practices to help assist you in best practices related to mentoring teacher candidates.

Field Placement Log

The juniors(s) that you have in your classroom should fill out a field placement log regularly (kept in a folder in your classroom) so you and the junior(s) have a record of days/times they were at the school and how they spent their time. This will help you keep a record of attendance and it's also a place to write reminder notes to the candidate(s).

Working With Seniors

The Elementary Teacher Preparation Program thanks you for being willing to work with a senior-year teacher candidate as a Mentor Teacher (MT). You are an essential part of the success of the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program at Michigan State University. Your senior-year teacher candidate will be placed in your classroom for five school hours each week. Throughout the year long placement, the senior-year teacher candidate will be investigating her or his future work as a teacher through several assignments which are part of the 400-level elementary methods coursework. These assignments include writing and implementing a daily lesson plan in your classroom. Your senior-year teacher candidate will provide you more information about these assignments. Your work as a MT is a vital part of the development and mentoring of preservice teachers.

On the rest of this page, you will find information and resources to assist your work with seniors as a Mentor Teacher.

Junior/Senior Mentor Teacher Guidebook

This guidebook provides information as to how to supporting the professional learning of teacher candidates. The guidebook also provides:

Contact information

How field placements are organized

Details about the TE 400-level coursework

Responsibilities in working with seniors

Helping Seniors get the most out of their field experiences

Mentoring practices

Helpful websites

Mentoring Practices

This helpful handbook provides ideas and advice about mentoring teacher candidates. While the primary audience of the book is for MTs working with interns, this handbook is a must read for all professional teachers. Any Mentor Teacher who has worked with teacher candidates will quickly acknowledge that it is complex and demanding work, and that, like all teaching, there is always more to learn about carrying out the mentoring role. That is because mentors are teacher educators who must provide appropriate guidance and support for a novice teacher whose professional practice is still developing. Use Mentoring Practices to help assist you in best practices related to mentoring teacher candidates.

Field Placement Log

The senior(s) that you have in your classroom should fill out a field placement log regularly (kept in a folder in your classroom) so you and the senior(s) have a record of days/times they were at the school and how they spent their time. This will help you keep a record of attendance and it's also a place to write reminder notes to the candidate(s).

MT Feedback Form – Seniors

You will be asked toward the end of the semester to fill out an evaluation and provide feedback of your teacher candidate. You will be sent a link to the evaluation. This feedback is given to the teacher candidate and helps the course instructors keep in touch with how candidates are participating in the classroom.

Additional Planning Resources

The following planning resources are available to guide Seniors in their lesson planning:

Working With Interns

Mentor Teachers are essential instructors in the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program. You open your classrooms for observation and expose your teaching practices for discussion and analysis. You share your wisdom of practice in interactions that range from brief talks with interns to extensive co-planning and co-teaching with interns.

These are vital contributions to teacher preparation, in part because they provide interns a wealth of images to talk about, and in part because they provide the novices a practice of teaching that complicates the thinking they bring from their experience as students in school. Likewise, you are able to motivate interns to learn from the Teacher Preparation Program, and that gives them experience, in the role of teacher, to which they can relate their studies.

The Elementary Teacher Preparation Program thanks you for being willing to work with an intern teacher as a Mentor Teacher (MT). We know that with the busy schedule and the heavy demands of teaching, it can be a challenge to find time to work side by side with another adult in the classroom. Yet, your work as a MT is a key part of the development and mentoring of an intern teacher. It is also an essential component of the success of the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program at Michigan State University.

On the rest of this page, you will find information and resources to assist your work with interns as a Mentor Teacher.

Mentor Teacher Responsibilities

Mentor Teachers take a major responsibility for guiding, supporting and assessing interns' learning to teach across an academic year.

Major responsibilities include:

arrange classroom-based learning opportunities that support the intern's development as a novice teacher across the school year;

assist intern in developing and implementing personal and professional learning goals;

assist interns in getting to know students, parents and school colleagues;

meet with intern at least once per week at a regularly scheduled time to co-plan; share decisions, ideas and observations; and discuss questions regarding the teaching and learning of everyone in the classroom—students, the intern and the mentor teacher;

model the intellectual work of teaching by sharing goals and beliefs, co-planning, discussing dilemmas and "thinking aloud" while teaching, co-teaching and talking with the intern about the teaching and learning in the classroom;

help the intern gain familiarity with district curriculum and grade level objectives, school policies, curricular resources;

participate in assessing the intern's progress at the goal-setting, mid-terms, end-of-the-semester and end-of-the-year conferences;

participate in writing placement papers for the intern at the end of the year;

communicate with the MSU field instructor on a regular basis about the intern's learning and professional attitudes and behaviors;

participate in professional development activities for mentor teachers

Internship Guidebook

An internship includes many key participants who take on challenging relationships that become the basis for successful professional learning experiences for those involved. This guide is designed to provide information, structure and guidance for internship participants—interns, mentor teachers, field and course instructors—to help them get the most out of this joint venture.

Mentoring Practices

This helpful handbook provides ideas and advice about mentoring teacher candidates. Any Mentor Teacher who has worked with interns will quickly acknowledge that it is complex and demanding work, and that, like all teaching, there is always more to learn about carrying out the mentoring role. That is because MTs are teacher educators who must provide appropriate guidance and support for a novice teacher whose professional practice is still developing. Use Mentoring Practices to help assist you in best practices related to mentoring teacher candidates.

Final Reports

Mentor Teachers and field instructors write a final report for each intern with whom they work. In mid-March, interns should give field instructors and MTs copies of a draft list of their accomplishments to date, so that writers of the report can, from then to mid-April, reflect with the interns on their performance and progress throughout the year. MTs and field instructors will begin drafting final reports, and have the option of attending an Elementary Teacher Preparation Program writing workshop to get feedback on their draft. Some MTs and field instructors write one report jointly and others write their own report separately.

Additional Planning Resources

The following planning resources are available to guide Interns in their lesson planning:

MT Contract Information

Each school that has Mentor Teachers who work with seniors and/or interns has a "school contract" with Michigan State University. The Secondary Teacher Preparation Program is providing this information regarding the funds available to mentor teachers (MTs) and their buildings. The purposes and processes outlined below reflect the policy adopted by the Teacher Preparation Academic Program and Policy Committee (TP-APPC) in the Teacher Education Department.

MENTOR TEACHER FUNDS

The Mentor Teacher funds are intended to honor and equip Mentor Teachers as partners in teacher education, by providing them modest allocations, about which they make decisions regarding the professional needs of MSU teacher candidates and interns with whom they work. These allocations are made in the expectation that the MTs who receive them will work closely with MSU as partners in teacher education.

A modest allocation is provided to the school site for two purposes: (a) to acknowledge and offset additional expenses that may be incurred by having additional professionals in the building (e.g., the cost of making copies; purchase additional equipment) and (b) to help schools to include MSU teacher candidates and interns as members of professional faculties that are engaged together in professional development and school improvement.

PURPOSE OF FUNDS

The general guiding principle for expenditures under this category is that they should support the learning of MSU teacher candidates and interns, in a partnership between teachers and MSU. Allowable costs include:

materials and equipment that increase the teacher candidates' and interns' opportunities to learn to teach, and/or enable the MT to work more effectively with teacher candidates and/or interns;

fees, materials and travel expenses associated with professional development opportunities for the intern and MT;

reimbursement for continuing education tuition/fees and

substitute teachers as needed to enable the MT to participate in periodic meetings with the teacher preparation program or to carry out other supported activities.

At their initiative, MTs may pool funds allocated to them to make purchases that support the learning of the group of teacher candidates/interns with whom they work. Prior approval of MSU is required for purchase of any items of equipment costing $500 or more.

IMPELEMENTATION OF FUNDS

Funds for the MTs are distributed through school contracts. Each school building sets up its own procedure for how MTs gain access to the funds. MTs should talk with their principal to learn about their building and district procedure. Submission of reimbursement must be received through the district office, therefore, MTs must follow internal policies and procedures for spending/reimbursement. MSU does not directly reimburse individuals.

Currently, the following allocations are provided to each school:

Funds Allocated to Mentor Teachers

Funds Allocated to the School Site*

$60 per senior

$10 per intern

$300 per intern

$50 per intern

Mentor Teachers with interns will be allowed to have their intern substitute for them without pay to the intern for up to five (5) days for purposes of professional development, in which the MT would not otherwise be able to participate.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

In keeping with the policy adopted during the 2004-05 year, interns may provide release time for their mentor teachers for up to five (5) days (or 10 half-days) for purposes of MT professional development. Interns would provide release time without pay because these five days are above and beyond the 15 days interns are allowed to substitute for pay. The five days are intended to be self-initiated by MTs and complement (not replace) in-service provided by the district.

This is an opportunity for interns to show their appreciation for all the time and effort MTs devote to supporting their learning, and to learn from the MT's professional development experiences as well. The end of fall semester and spring semester are optimal times for mentor teachers with interns to take advantage this opportunity to support their professional growth and build professional community within and across schools.

Here are some ideas:

A small group of teachers within a building might meet to discuss the implementation of a new instructional model that they want to try (e.g., lesson study, book club, literature circles, writers workshop), or to share and gather new resource materials for their teaching.

A small group of teachers from the same grade level or subject area might meet to share ideas about how they assess student learning and use that information to plan for further instruction.

Pairs of teachers might observe in each other's classrooms to discuss their own teaching in a particular subject matter.

Teachers from different schools might observe each other to become familiar with how a program is implemented in a particular subject matter area.

Teachers might choose to attend a workshop or conference on a topic of interest (e.g., the Michigan Reading Association Conference http://www.michiganreading.org/); Michigan Association for Computer Use in Learning [MACUL], http://www.macul.org/).

This list is just a sample of the types of opportunities of which MTs could take advantage. Please share additional ideas you have with others in your building! We are hoping that MTs will follow up by sharing what they are learning with other MTs and interns.